Bug Description

Since switching to Gutsy to verify whether the packages I maintain still operate as expected, I have noticed that after a few minutes of idle operation, the screen goes blank and cannot be returned to normal. The only way to get screen content again is to reboot, which is possible either by pressing the ACPI-enabled power button or a remote SSH connection. Broken DPMS is suspected, although I have no way of confirming this.

Purposely downgrading xserver-xorg-core and anything that depend on it, then pining it to that version, while keeping all the rest of the packages to Gutsy versions solves it, which suggests something related to X.org upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 might be at play.

Note: someone on #ltsp mentions a similar situation using xserver-xorg-video-amd, yet the exact same AMD driver doesn't exhibit this behavior when compiled and used with earlier X releases.

I have exactly the same problems described with Xubuntu Gutsy on a Thinkpad i1300 (1171-350).
1. The screen once idle for a time, goes black and never returns no matter the key that you press.
2. The vga console problem. This was solved adding at the end of /etc/modules:

fbcon
vga16fb

3. One more strange effect: with tuxpaint and some java educational app (jclic) the mouse pointer gets garbbled, if I select the --nofancycursors switch with tuxpaint, then the pointer appears as a normal black arrow, buth with two more "shadow" pointers at the right side.

"After a few minutes of idle operation, the screen goes blank and cannot be returned to normal. The only way to get screen content again is to reboot, which is possible either by pressing the ACPI-enabled power button or a remote SSH connection. Broken DPMS is suspected, although I have no way of confirming this.

Purposely downgrading xserver-xorg-core and anything that depend on it, then pining it to that version, while keeping all the rest of the packages to Gutsy versions solves it, which suggests something related to X.org upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 might be at play."

Unfortunately there has been no response to the upstream bug report. If somebody can try latest X packages (Intrepid or even better Jaunty) and confirm the problem is still there, we could update the report.

Daniel: according to your logs you have a monitor connected to the VGA output, is that right or is monitor detection failing?
If you really have a monitor connected, do you experience the DPMS problem with the external monitor?

> Daniel: according to your logs you have a monitor connected to the VGA
> output, is that right or is monitor detection failing?

No, I just have my IBM thinkpad 1200 series and no external monitor
selected....

For other tests, i can't do them before next saturday...

>
> If you really have a monitor connected, do you experience the DPMS problem
> with the external monitor?
>
> Could you try setting:
> > Option "UseBIOS" "off"
> in your xorg.conf, Section "Device"?
>
> You could also try to build the current development version from sources.
> To check out a copy from the git repository:
> > git clone git://
> anongit.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-siliconmotion
>
> --
> Screen blanks and freezes after a few minutes of idling, possibly due to
> broken DPMS
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/136853
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in xf86-video-siliconmotion: Confirmed
> Status in “xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion” source package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Since switching to Gutsy to verify whether the packages I maintain still
> operate as expected, I have noticed that after a few minutes of idle
> operation, the screen goes blank and cannot be returned to normal. The only
> way to get screen content again is to reboot, which is possible either by
> pressing the ACPI-enabled power button or a remote SSH connection. Broken
> DPMS is suspected, although I have no way of confirming this.
>
> Purposely downgrading xserver-xorg-core and anything that depend on it,
> then pining it to that version, while keeping all the rest of the packages
> to Gutsy versions solves it, which suggests something related to X.org
> upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 might be at play.
>
> Note: someone on #ltsp mentions a similar situation using
> xserver-xorg-video-amd, yet the exact same AMD driver doesn't exhibit this
> behavior when compiled and used with earlier X releases.
>

Francisco, first of all, thanks for maintaining this driver! I am looking for a minimal fix for Jaunty, since it is already in Beta it will be difficult to get a new git snapshot through, unless it is really needed. Which other commits since 1.7.0 might be needed? 0b34c4a29fcf45ac24361b4691cca0fd99cc3a3f ? If you release a 1.7.1 "stable bug fix release" maybe it would be easier to get it in ;)

Anyway, if we don't get test results from any of the guys here, it will have to wait for Ubuntu 9.10.

That was preventing the driver from programming the maximum memory clock.

It's unlikely that it will fix the DPMS problem though. In fact, I doubt it is really about DPMS because 1.7.0 switches to DPMS off temporarily during mode setting and if it were broken you would never see anything at all on the screen.

To find out what is the server doing when the screen remains black, you can try to build the driver with CFLAGS="-DSMI_DEBUG", and then invoke it with some high verbosity level, like:
# Xorg -logverbose 8

Then try to reproduce it.

BTW, has the VT switching problem mentioned above been solved on 1.7.0? I'm quite sure that the "awful slowness" problem with 32bpp was fixed on commit 1fc340dcf0abd7fa0837fef2c711aaec4fa8bcb8.

I uploaded an 1.7.0-1ubuntu1~tormod3 to my PPA which includes Francisco's patch, for those of you who are not able to build drivers from git. The package is built with CFLAGS="-DSMI_DEBUG". Please test it, as well as the xset test suggested by Francisco.

I've just updated jaunty_tormod.
Great, I see the screen !
I see the toolbar on top
the 2nd half of the screen is block with xdhmc marked
but the screen seems freezed and I've no mouse cursor.
But it's a great progress to have a xwindow !
I've not the time today to send a log but I'll send to morrow afternoon...
Tanks
Daniel

2009/3/30 Tormod Volden <email address hidden>

> I uploaded an 1.7.0-1ubuntu1~tormod3 to my PPA which includes
> Francisco's patch, for those of you who are not able to build drivers
> from git. The package is built with CFLAGS="-DSMI_DEBUG". Please test
> it, as well as the xset test suggested by Francisco.
>
> --
> Screen blanks and freezes after a few minutes of idling, possibly due to
> broken DPMS
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/136853
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in xf86-video-siliconmotion: Confirmed
> Status in “xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion” source package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Since switching to Gutsy to verify whether the packages I maintain still
> operate as expected, I have noticed that after a few minutes of idle
> operation, the screen goes blank and cannot be returned to normal. The only
> way to get screen content again is to reboot, which is possible either by
> pressing the ACPI-enabled power button or a remote SSH connection. Broken
> DPMS is suspected, although I have no way of confirming this.
>
> Purposely downgrading xserver-xorg-core and anything that depend on it,
> then pining it to that version, while keeping all the rest of the packages
> to Gutsy versions solves it, which suggests something related to X.org
> upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 might be at play.
>
> Note: someone on #ltsp mentions a similar situation using
> xserver-xorg-video-amd, yet the exact same AMD driver doesn't exhibit this
> behavior when compiled and used with earlier X releases.
>

> I've just updated jaunty_tormod.
> Great, I see the screen !
> I see the toolbar on top
> the 2nd half of the screen is block with xdhmc marked
> but the screen seems freezed and I've no mouse cursor.
> But it's a great progress to have a xwindow !
> I've not the time today to send a log but I'll send to morrow afternoon...
> Tanks
> Daniel

I don't understand. Do you mean that the X server wasn't coming up at
all before? I thought your problem was about DPMS.

How are your symptoms then? Are they somewhat different after
upgrading to 1.7.0?

Is the screen already "freezed" when you start a plain X server with
no clients?
# Xorg -retro -logverbose 8

Don't you get an X-shaped cursor after running that? If you don't,
then there may be some problem with hardware cursor rendering. Try
adding this to Section "Device":
> Option "HWCursor" "off"

On Wednesday 01 April 2009 10:35:40 Francisco Jerez wrote:
>
> I don't understand. Do you mean that the X server wasn't coming up at
> all before?
yes, I'd a black screen with my IBM series and silicommotion card

> I thought your problem was about DPMS.
>
> How are your symptoms then? Are they somewhat different after
> upgrading to 1.7.0?
Yes, by now I get a screen : on the top, a toolbar with "restart - shutdown -
language - session - remote login with XDMCP"
and in the secund half-screen below : a blanck rectangle with on teh left
XDMCP
The screen is freezed and i have no cursor

Does your X server remain completely frozen? I mean, is it still responsive to client requests? Does it still respond to the keyboard? (e.g. does it die when you hit Ctrl+Alt+backspace? But note that for this to work you will probably need to set Option "DontZap" "off" in Section "ServerFlags").

In case it is really frozen and you have access to gdb, a backtrace at the place it hangs would be useful.

i'll do the tests on next Saturday.
But, I believed that the new version of Xorg.conf was reinitialised at every
start ? Where put the options proposed ?

Please note that I have no screen and xwindow server with the last liveCD of
Knoppix nor with the liveCD of Puppy-linux.
But, I really like xubuntu and want to keep it on this old laptop.
Thanks
--
Daniel Durand

On Monday 30 March 2009 21:51:03 Daniel Durand wrote:
> I've just updated jaunty_tormod.
> Great, I see the screen !
> I see the toolbar on top
> the 2nd half of the screen is block with xdhmc marked
> but the screen seems freezed and I've no mouse cursor.
> But it's a great progress to have a xwindow !
> I've not the time today to send a log but I'll send to morrow afternoon...
> Tanks
> Daniel
>

@Tormod Volden, yes, the system went completely frozen. No terminal, no alt+sysreq with "stock" xubuntu-9.04, it works with EXA although yesterday I installed the system for a friend don't know if it works flawless. I will report relative problems from the user.